Chapter 1: Honey Mother
"Smack!" A heavy slap landed on my face, leaving a red mark that burned with a searing pain.
"Get out! I don't have a worthless son like you!"
The man before me roared. A life of long-term alcoholism and debauchery had left him with sunken eyes, a darkened forehead, and a withered face. Coupled with his tattered clothes that looked like they hadn't been changed in ages, he resembled a useless, impotent beast.
This man was my father, Zhou Wen. Since divorcing my mother three years ago, he had barely left the house, surviving on takeout and alcohol every day.
"Fine, I'll go! I never want to see you again!"
I covered my burning cheek, tears welling up uncontrollably.. I didn't want him to see my tears, so I turned and immediately went to my room to pack my things.
In truth, I didn't have much to pack, just some books, textbooks, a teacup, and stationery. I was done quickly, packing two bags before storming out.
The living room was piled high with garbage, God knows how long it had been there. If I didn't clean, the house would forever remain in this state. I was utterly disgusted with this filthy little room and couldn't bear to stay another minute, I slammed the door and left.
As I rushed out, my father was still gulping down his alcohol, not even sparing me a glance.
"Bang!" The iron door slammed shut behind me. I took large strides down the stairs, tears still glistening in the corners of my eyes.
I thought back to many years ago, when I had such a happy family: a refined and cultured father, a gentle and virtuous mother, a large and impressive house, and no shortage of food or clothing. In just a few short years, it had all come to this. In my heart, I felt only resentment for everything.
My name is Zhou Bin, and I'm 18 years high school student at Jingzhou City's No. 2 High School.
Since my ancestors, my family had been in business for generations, enjoying a considerable local reputation. By my grandfather's generation, we had become a wealthy family with assets exceeding a hundred million, one of the four most prominent business families in Jingzhou City.
However, this privileged upbringing had also fostered my father, Zhou Wen's, stubborn and self-willed temper. As the only son, he was doted on by his elders from a young age. Trained from an early age to be the family heir, he was cultivated into a knowledgeable and reasonable intellectual. After entering society, with the family's resources and the connections accumulated by his grandfather's generation, he was momentarily unmatched, and the family business grew larger and larger.
My mother's name was Gu Wanxin, the second daughter of the Gu family, another of the four great families of Jingzhou. She had also received an elite education from a young age and immediately demonstrated outstanding abilities after starting work. She was a remarkably capable businesswoman.
Moreover, my mother was stunningly beautiful in her youth. She was a renowned beauty in Jingzhou, with a continuous stream of suitors from political and business circles, but she had never found anyone who caught her eye.
At a chance business banquet, my father met my beautiful mother and was instantly smitten, as if he had seen a goddess. He pursued her relentlessly. My father was mediocre in the family business, but he was exceptionally skilled at wooing women. His myriad of romantic gestures finally moved my mother's heart. At the same time, the elders of the Gu family, considering that our Zhou family's business was also on the rise and that my father was the sole heir, believed that a union between the two families would be more beneficial to their businesses. So, with the encouragement of both sets of elders, my father and mother were successfully married.
After their marriage and before I was born, my mother joined the Zhou family business. She displayed superb business acumen, and the business flourished. However, this aroused the dissatisfaction of my narrow-minded father.
Spoiled as the only son, he had a strong sense of male chauvinism and couldn't tolerate a woman being more outstanding than him. Consequently, cracks began to appear in their marital relationship.
After I was born, my mother resolutely gave up her career to focus on being a wife and mother, a wealthy full-time housewife. The couple's relationship warmed. My childhood was spent in affluent happiness.
A few years later, when I was about ten, my grandfather passed away from a serious illness. My young father took full control of the family business, becoming the youngest head of the family in Jingzhou City, enjoying a period of great prestige.
But in reality, his previous business success had relied heavily on the connections and experience accumulated by his grandfather's generation. His own abilities were insufficient once he was in charge. Furthermore, our family's main business was large-scale physical shopping malls, which were hugely impacted by the rise of e-commerce in the 21st century. My father failed to adjust his strategic thinking in time, clinging to the old strategies left by his grandfather, and was quickly defeated by emerging competitors like e-commerce businesses.
At this time, my mother often offered advice from behind my father, which did manage to reverse some of the business decline. But my father was a typical male chauvinist who couldn't bear the fact that his wife was more capable than him. He rejected her suggestions and even transferred her company shares to himself, forcing her to return to her role as a full-time housewife.
Although my mother felt resentful, she continued to fulfill her duties as a housewife. Since my father was often neglectful of family matters, I naturally became very close to my mother. You could say my childhood was basically spent with my dear mother. Her gentle figure accompanied me through every day and night. Our mother-son relationship was closer than with anyone else, our blood ties made us rely on each other.
Back then, I was naive and only knew that my mother was the most beautiful and gentle person in the world, and the also the person who loved me the most.
But good times don't last long. As the business environment worsened, our Zhou family's business began to decline. Within a few years, dozens of local stores were closed. Coupled with competitors' opportunistic attacks and kicking us while we were down, my father, who was incapable of turning the tide, panicked and desperately sought help from various banks for more loans, eventually resorting to borrowing from private lenders and quickly accumulating massive debts.
At this point, my mother realized that if she didn't help my father, it would be a disaster. She wanted to use the power of her own Gu family to help him, but for some reason, rumors of her infidelity began to spread, soon reaching my father's ears.
My mother had been a renowned, one-in-a-million beauty in her youth. After years of maturity, not only had her feminine charms not faded with time, but they had become even more pronounced. In her every gesture, she began to naturally exude the charm of a mature, beautiful woman.
She gave birth to me at 20. When I was 15, she had entered the mature age of 35.
My mother, was diligent about skincare and fitness. She was very tall, at 172 centimeters, with a head of jet-black hair, large watery eyes, slender crescent eyebrows, and thick sexy lips that were tantalizingly red. Her oval-shaped face was flawless and radiant. Beside her sexy red lips, I vaguely remembered a captivating beauty mark.
My mother's skin was delicate and fair. With age, she had acquired the unique charm and grace of a mature woman, an elegant, noble, and captivatingly noble temperament. Her figure had also become fuller, gradually developing into a curvy, sensual beauty with large breasts and ample hips.
Her towering breasts were round, firm, and perky, her slender waist could be grasped in one hand and her legs were plump, shapely, and long.
But if I had to name the sexiest part of my mother's body, it would be her round, perky, plump and voluptuous buttocks. Even when she was young, my mother's hips were very firm and perky. After years of fitness and maintenance, as she reached a mature age, her plump buttocks became even more fleshy and prominent. No matter what kind of dress or skirt she wore, they would look tightly stretched. Accentuated by her slender waist and long, plump thighs, they protruded behind her like a juicy, round peach.
With her stunning looks and fiery figure, my mother had always lived a privileged, pampered life. She was also a fashionista. Whenever she went out shopping or attended social events, she was very meticulous with her clothing, usually choosing the latest seasonal styles, mostly tight-fitting dresses and skirts that highlighted her figure. Furthermore, she always carefully selected her stockings and high heels. She often wore skin-colored, black, or gray stockings, so her beautiful legs were adorned year round with either sheer, skin-toned stockings or opaque, elastic velvet stockings.
My sexy and glamorous mother became a prominent female figure in Jingzhou City, and some rumors even gave her the title "Jingzhou's Number One Beauty."
At home, she was a dignified, gentle, and virtuous full-time housewife. Outside, she was the glamorous, elegant, and enchanting "Jingzhou's Number One Beauty."
My mother was like a ripe cherry, exuding the charm of a mature woman. The more mature she became, the greater the temptation she presented.
It was precisely because of my mother's consistently sexy attire that there were more and more rumors about her. There were always busybodies who said she dressed so glamorously because she wanted to find a lover outside. Coupled with that suggestive nickname, people couldn't help but think of scandalous scenes whenever the name Gu Wanxin was mentioned. There was no shortage of people making lewd comments.
When my father heard these rumors, he came home in a rage to confront my mother, also taking out his frustration from his business failures on us. My mother, of course, vehemently denied it, accusing him of listening to others' provocations and urging him to stay calm and not be impulsive or deceived.
It was only later that I learned that after his business setbacks, my father had developed erectile dysfunction and was unable to have sex with my mother. With the loss of his sexual abilities and a twisted mindset, he naturally concluded that my mother dressed so glamorously to seduce other men, which was an unbearable insult to him. Their marital relationship gradually broke down.
But I knew in my heart that although my mother was stunningly beautiful, she was not just a pretty face. She had a very mature personality and heart, and was also clever and intelligent. At home, she cared for and loved me and also served her mother-in-law dutifully. Where else could you find such a gentle and virtuous wife?
How could she kick him while he was down and have an affair when his career was failing?
But my father seemed unable to grasp this. The house was filled with endless arguments every day.
Finally, my mother became tired of this incompetent man who only knew how to drink and quarrel and decided to divorce him. My mother, who loved me so dearly, naturally fought hard for my custody. However, her family, the Gu's, had become disappointed with this marriage and didn't want me, a potential heir who could share the family property, to stay in their home. Therefore, they did not support my mother in getting my custody. At the time, my father still had some financial means, so in the end, my custody was awarded to him. After my mother cried while holding me, she kissed me goodbye in resignation, and no longer wanting to stay in Jingzhou, this place of heartbreak, left alone for the United States to develop her career.
You could say that before I was 13, my mother was my entire life. Her departure left me feeling completely lost.
In the first year after my mother went to America, she often called me. We were basically in contact every day. She was very concerned about how I was doing here, and asked about my well-being.